Machine Robo Mugenbine
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Machine Robo Mugenbine (マシンロボ ムゲンバイン?) is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 2004 by Bandai. Designed by PLEX, Mugenbine is the successor of the Machine Robo line of shape-changing toys.
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[edit] About Mugenbine
Mugenbine is a term derived from the words mugen, Japanese for 'infinite', and the English word 'combine', which is the theme for the series. Rather than the traditional shape changing method of previous figures, Mugenbine uses numerous interlocking pegs and sockets to attach and remove components and relocate them in order to form different modes. While all figures have at least two official alternate modes and most have official combinations with one to three other figures, the concept of the line is to allow you to assemble your own animal and machine creations and build your own robots of various size and numbers of sets, an activity encouraged by Bandai to the point where figures with no official combiner modes come with larger head parts to help create your own.
[edit] Core Figures
The majority of the series consists of figures called Mugenroids, basic block-proportioned figures that can contort and fold into various shapes, most notably a perfect cube, to form the core of it's various modes. While they generally look identical aside from color scheme, each Mugenroid has a different head sculpt. Most sets come with six to ten components called "bine parts" that attach via the many pegs and holes on the Mugenroid, as well as on each other, to create other forms. At first, each figure featured an animal and vehicle mode only, but later sets expanded to include larger robot modes as well, and some even later sets did away with the vehicle mode. As the toyline expanded, new cores were created. Most notable is the Turboroid, who can't bend as many ways as it's predecessor, but already has wheels attached to help form vehicle modes and included completely unique heads that could rotate. Others used no core figure at all, instead coming with a Mugen Engine that allows spinning gimmicks. Later figures use new core bots called Buildroids that are formed from parts themselves and feature small pilot figures called Roiders.
[edit] Toylist
[edit] Mugen Gattai Series
The basic series of toys are referred to as Mugen Gattai (fusion) figures. The innitial release of these figures came alphabetically, as well as having most Mugenroids feature a matching letter on the side of their head. This innitial series is often called the Letter series or Alphabet series for these reasons. The toyline is known for running themes for it's figures. The toys Teiouryu, Uzumakidori, Wanrikiguma, and Yuutenma were called Ridebines, as their vehicle modes don't require the Mugenroid to form it's core, rather the parts formed a vehicle for the Mugenroid to ride on. The figures Quest Knight, Save Gunman, and Razor Ninja were referred to in commercials as the Three Musketeers and are designed after historical warrior types, a knight, a cowboy, and a ninja respectively. The various dinosaur figures, likewise, were considered their own subgroup. The series also introduced deluxe figures, figures much larger than usual Mugenbine sets. These included Victory Leon, an upgrade of Air Leon, and Zord Elephant, who came with an upscaled Mugenroid.
| Name | Animal | Machine | Robot? | Combiner |
| Air Leon | Lion | Jet | No | Mugen General 3, Mugen General 5, Mugen General 7 |
| Build Giraffe | Giraffe | Crane | No | Mugen General 3, Mugen General 5, Mugen General 7 |
| Carry Eagle | Eagle | Pickup Truck | No | Mugen General 3, Mugen General 5, Mugen General 7 |
| Dig Kong | Gorilla | Excavator | No | Mugen Kaiser 4, Mugen General 5, Mugen General 7 |
| Evo Rhinoce | Rhinoceros | Tunnel Driller | No | Mugen Kaiser 4, Mugen General 5, Mugen General 7 |
| Fang Tiger1 | Tiger | Jet | No | Mugen Kaiser 4, Mugen General 7 |
| Galaxy Rex | Tyrannosaurus | Shuttle w/ Rockets | No | Mugen Dino Double2 |
| Heat Tricera | Triceratops | Locomotive | No | Mugen Dino Double |
| Iron Beetle | Rhino Beetle | VTOL | No | Mugen Sector |
| Junk Stag | Stag Beetle | Bulldozer | No | Mugen Sector |
| Kaiser Condor1 | Condor | Dump Truck | No | Mugen Kaiser 4 |
| Launcher Saurus | Tyrannosaurus | Space Shuttle | No | w/ Mugen Fire and Mugen Police |
| Mach Ptera | Pteradactyl | Race Car | No | None |
| Needle Stego | Stegosaurus | Helicopter | No | None |
| Overligan3 | Liger | Drill Vehicle | No | None |
| Power Nose3 | Elephant | Crane | No | None |
| Quest Knight3 | Dragon | Fire Truck w/ Gateway | Yes | Mugen Jyushi 3 |
| Razor Ninja3 | Swordfish | Car w/ Stoplight | Yes | Mugen Jyushi 3 |
| Save Gunman3 | Bull | Truck w/ Gas Pump | Yes | Mugen Jyushi 3 |
| Teiouryu | Dragon | Motorcycle | Yes | Mugen Ride General 3 |
| Uzumakidori | Eagle | Jetski | Yes | Mugen Ride General 3 |
| Victory Leon | Lion | Truck and Base | Yes | None |
| Wanrikiguma | Bear | Go-Kart | Yes | Mugen Ride General 3 |
| Xenonbine | Dragon/Scorpion | Jet/Tank | Yes | None |
| Yuutenma | Pegasus | Hang Glider | Yes | 4 |
| Zord Elephant | Elephant | Flatbed Truck | Yes | Mugen General 75 |
1 Fang Tiger and Kaiser Condor were reengineered from Air Leon and Carry Eagle respectively.
2 Galaxy Rex and Heat Tricera also combine in animal mode as Mugen Brachio Double.
3 These figures are Turboroids and thus do not feature their assigned letter on their head sculpts.
4 Yuutenma combines into extra parts for all three of Teiouryu's modes
5 Mugen General 7's figures can also combine into a super animal mode.
Some of the more popular figures were released a second time in new color schemes and usually with new weapon parts. Figures that officially combine were repacked like this as well.
| Name | Originally | Changes |
| Air Leon | Air Leon | Repainted into black and gold. |
| Air Leon | Air Leon | Repainted into white and red. Packed with Build Giraffe and Carry Eagle repaints1 |
| Build Giraffe | Build Giraffe | Repainted into red and white. Packed with Air Leon and Carry Eagle repaints1 |
| Carry Eagle | Carry Eagle | Repainted into red and white. Packed with Build Giraffe and Air Leon repaints1 |
| Assault Leon | Air Leon | Repainted in blue and black. Two new gun bine parts included. |
| Energy Rhinoce | Evo Rhinoce | Repainted in dark grey and black. Two new cannon bine parts included. |
| Great Rex | Galaxy Rex | Repainted in red and white. Two new sword bine parts included. |
| Lead Saurus | Launcher Saurus | Repainted in blue and black. Two new gun bine parts included. 2 |
| Inter Beetle | Iron Beetle | Repainted in maroon and gold. Packed with Jab Stag.3 |
| Jab Stag | Junk Stag | Repainted in black and silver with a new head part. Packed with Inter Beetle.3 |
| Quest Knight | Quest Knight | Repainted in white and blue. Packed with Razor Ninja and Save Gunman repaints.4 |
| Razor Ninja | Razor Ninja | Repainted in black. Packed with Quest Knight and Save Gunman repaints.4 |
| Save Gunman | Save Gunman | Repainted in red. Packed with Quest Knight and Razor Ninja repaints.4 |
1 This set was also packed with Proto Roid, a translucent green Mugenroid.
2 The additional parts allowed Lead Saurus an official robot mode.
3 This pack included five insect-based bine parts to form weapons and upgrades in the toy's various modes
4 This pack included three weapon parts that combined into a lion
The Mugen Gattai series continued as more variations of Mugenbine were released, though the figures became simpler, and did away with the themes of letters and machine modes. These generally included official combinations with the larger Mugen Engine figures released at the time.
| Name | Animal | Combines With |
| Impact Dile | Crocodile | Arch Tiger |
| Wing Bat | Bat | Arch Tiger |
| Gear Tortoise | Turtle | Guard Kong |
| Spit Cobra1 | Snake | Saga Falcon |
1 Spit Cobra is the only Mugenbine figure to include spring-launched missiles.
Another set was released that included three previous Mugenroids recolored in translucent plastic. Spark Roid, Quick Roid, and Rush Roid came with only a few bine parts that acted as weaponry, or provided torso and head attachments to combine into Roid General 3.
[edit] Base Series
Part of the Mugen Gattai series, these deluxe sized sets were released with Turboroids and along with animal, machine, and robot modes, also formed bases for the smaller Turoboid machines to use. Their bine parts also combine to form larger, big machine modes that the smaller machines can ride in. They're known for their large box components that form the bulk of their modes. Part of their design is to allow fans who want to build gigantic robots from their sets to accomplish them easier, as such all base figures come with an extra head for this purpose.
| Name | Machine | Big Machine | Animal | Base |
| Mugen Police1 | Police Car | Locomotive | Tyrannosaurus | Police Station |
| Mugen Fire1 | Fire Truck | Semi Truck | Brachiosaurus | Fire House |
| Mugen Builder1 | Dump Truck | Airship | Mammoth | Excavator |
| Mugen Hercules2 | Bullet Train | Horse & Carridge | Rhino Beetle | Station |
1 Mugen Police, Mugen Fire, and Muge Builder combine into Mugen Commander
2 Mugen Hercules came with a Mugenroid as well as a Turboroid.
[edit] Engine Series
Some figures released did away with the core robot completely. Instead, the toy's various forms were built around a Mugen Engine, also called a Tornado Engine. These engines use a series of gears and wheels to allow parts connected to it to spin when triggered, allowing some combinations with other Mugenbine toys as spinning weapons. While all figures have robot modes, some do not have machine modes.
| Name | Animal | Machine | Combines With |
| Arch Tiger | White Tiger | Super Police Car | Impact Dile and Wing Bat |
| Guard Kong | Gorilla | None | Gear Tortoise and Arch Tiger |
| Turbo Animal Force | Elephant and two Lions | VTOL Helicopter | None |
| Saga Falcon1 | Falcon | None | Arch Tiger |
1 Saga Falcon included a lion-based robot named Sig Sphinx which combined with it for it's robot mode.
[edit] Build Gattai Series
Returning to the concept of a core robot, the Build Gattai are the newest form of normal Mugenbine figures. Rather than a one piece Mugenroid or Turboroid, a new figure called a Buildroid is used. These are made up of bine parts themselves and feature a cockpit for a mini figure, called a Roider, to sit inside. Buildroids are a good bit bigger than Mugenroids, meaning these sets usually had a lot more bine parts, and also return to the formula of including machine, animal, and robot modes.
| Name | Animal | Machine | Combines With |
| Powerful Tyranno | Tyrannosaurus | Power Shovel | Speed Eagle |
| Speed Eagle | Eagle | Indy Car | Powerful Tyranno |
| Heavy Mammoth | Mammoth | Airship/Bulldozer | Powerful Tyranno & Speed Eagle |
| Chase Dober | Doberman1 | Riot Truck | Attack Condor (Police Body Double) |
| Attack Condor | Condor | Helicopter & Motorcycle | Chase Dober (Police Body Double) |
| Tri Wolf | Wolf | Fire Truck | Powerful Tyranno, Speed Eagle, Heavy Mammoth |
| Dark Flame Dragon2 | Dragon | Aerial Gunship | None |
1 The Doberman form is accomplished without using the Buildroid, who is police themed.
2 Dark Flame Dragon includes two Roider pilots and includes 16 official modes including it's main animal, machine, and robot modes.
[edit] Candy Toy Series
While no recent Gattai series toys have been released, Mugenbine survives as a series of candy toys. These are released similar to how baseball cards are sold in America, at convenience stores on the checkout counter and at specialty shops, and packed with them is a piece of candy, similar to large Smarties (Ce De Candy). They tend to be much more simple, with little paint, relying heavily on stickers for it's detailing, and with parts that usually come still attached to their plastic trees like model kits.
Series One
This series reused popular original Mugenbine figures, though heavily simplified, Air Leon's lion head no longer tucked away in jet mode for example. A new combined robot mode for the three was also devised.
| Name | Animal | Machine |
| Air Leon | Lion | Jet |
| Galaxy Rex | Tyrannosaurus | Shuttle w/ Rockets |
| Carry Eagle | Eagle | Pickup Truck |
Series Two - Four Holy Beasts
Beginning with this series, candy toys became whole new sculpts and were released in groups of five, with one piece being a simplified Mugenroid, lacking ratcheted joints and movable pegs. The remaining four are beast based and form weapon modes for larger Mugenbine figures. For this innitial set, the animals are based on the four saint beasts of Japanese lore. The five figures combine into Mugen Emperor
| Name | Animal | Weapon |
| Mugenroid | None | None |
| Mugen Byakko | Tiger | Clawed Lance |
| Mugen Suzaku | Phoenix | Shield |
| Mugen Seiryu | Serpent Dragon | Twin Lance |
| Mugen Genbu | Turtle | War Hammer |
Because of the popularity of this set, it was released again, this time beside dark repaints of themselves. These figures used a new theme on names, replacing Mugen with Death while retaining their previous names, and likewise, combined into Death Emperor, only the second official villain in the Mugenbine franchise after Xenonbine.
Series Three - Four Dragons
The second new series followed the same theme as the first, this time the Mugenroid was released along with four different dragons, each with a different theme and weapon mode. Combined, they became Mugen Ryuujin (Dragon God), who was notably larger and better artuculared than it's predecessor.
| Name | Animal | Weapon |
| Mugenroid | None | None |
| Mugen Enryu | Fire Dragon | Lance |
| Mugen Suiryu | Water Dragon | Spin Blade |
| Mugen Chiryu | Land Dragon | Shuriken |
| Mugen Rairyu | Thunder Dragon | Bow |
Series Four - Golden God and Silver God
Created by repainting all the figures from the Four Holy Beast and Four Dragons sets, these sets were boxed together, typically coming one of each per box. Rather than retaining the original combinations with new colors, the designers rearranged the figures and designed completely new robot modes, along with sculpting new heads for the robot modes. This series also included a small storyline featuring their battle with Dark Flame Dragon as well as their similarities.[1]
| Name | Originally | Combine |
| Mugenroid Kin-Ou | Beast Mugenroid | Kinoujin |
| Mugen Ganryuu | Mugen Chiryu | Kinoujin |
| Mugen Kagutora | Mugen Byakko | Kinoujin |
| Mugen Houou | Mugen Suzaku | Kinoujin |
| Mugen Kaenryuu | Mugen Enryu | Kinoujin |
| Mugenroid Gin-Ou | Dragon Mugenroid | Ginoujin |
| Mugen Reiki | Mugen Genbu | Ginoujin |
| Mugen Chidori | Mugen Rairyu | Ginoujin |
| Mugen Kouryuu | Mugen Seiryu | Ginoujin |
| Mugen Mizuchi | Mugen Suiryu | Ginoujin |
Series Five - Five God Beasts
This series of figures removes the Mugenroid from the design and replaces it with a Buildroid complete with Roider figure. The theme of the set is Egyptian mythology, featuring designs based on many Egyptian gods.
| Name | Based On |
| Mugen Anubis | Anubis, God of Death |
| Mugen Sphinx | Sphinx, Guardian Beast |
| Mugen Ra | Ra, God of the Sun |
| Mugen Scorpion | Serket, Goddess of Magic |
| Mugen Sobek | Sobek, Guardian of the Gods |
Series Six - Mugen Gokenju
Due for release in June, Mugen Gokenju is the Japanese name of the next set of candy toys. Based on promotional artwork of the set, the four animal figures in this series appear to all feature horns. It also appears to retain the Buildroid construction as it's core robot is more complex than a Mugenroid.
| Name | Animal |
| Mugen Arthur | Knight |
| Mugen Lio | Lion |
| Mugen Phoenix | Phoenix |
| Mugen Unicorn | Unicorn |
| Mugen Leviathan | Dragon |
[edit] Storyline
Little backstory is given for the Mugenbine toyline aside from what can be pieced together from commercials and the back of toy packaging.
According to fiction from the commercials, the story takes place in Mugenpolis, where the first Mugenbine, Air Leon, was developed, soon followed by Build Giraffe and Carry Eagle, designed to counter emergencies in the city. The only villain seen is Xenonbine, an evil Mugenbine capable of more combinations than any of the others at the time. The commercials also explained the characters Great Rex, Heat Tricera, and Zord Elephant were created by Mugenbine's North American branch. After Victory Leon is created to serve as a gateway to the city, the commercials begin referring to it as Mugen City, and introduced the Mugen Bases. Arch Tiger's commercial also implies an unseen, ominous enemy as it's appearance causes the sky to turn purple. There is also a side story featuring the Ridebine characters who are searching for legendary weapons, a theme supported by the manga included with these figures where they battle a machine monster powered by these weapons, as well as their inclusion with numerous Teiouryu figures as "prize parts", the weapon parts from Assault Leon, Energy Rhinoce, and Great Rex molded in gold plastic.
At some point, the storyline on the packages tell that the Mugenroids are taken over and turn against the city. As a result, the Buildroids are created, with human pilots that could not be controlled. They're left as the only protectors of Mugen City in the face of the new threat. The storyline is presumed to be ongoing as the most recent toy releases also includes a pilot figure.[2]
[edit] Trivia
Air Leon only made a special Guest Appearance in the Two-Part Special of Machine Robo Rescue.
